Upside Down
by Marquise de Nile
Summary: [Femslash February 2020] Sakura wanted to be prepared for her first kiss. Genin femSasuSaku.


Written for Femslash February 2020.

Prompts: kissing, upside down

Paring: femSasuSaku

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**Upside Down**

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Sakura was quite typical for a twelve-year-old freshly minted kunoichi raised in peace time. She was loud, big-headed and obsessed with the idea of romance. She had celebrity crushes on actors and models, all civilian, and she constantly fantasized about meeting the one boy that would sweep her off her feet. In her mind's eye this dream boy was actually faceless, but it only fueled her determination to find the right one in real life. Someone that she could love and would love her in return, someone that would make her feel those butterflies in her stomach that romance books mentioned so often, someone that would kiss her breathless…

What Sakura dreamed about was having her first kiss already. She kept hearing other girls at the Academy giggling together over cute boys, talking about their kissing experiences, sharing tips. It made her so envious! She felt like she was missing out on something truly amazing.

When she became a genin, Sakura swore to herself she would finally get her first kiss. Of course, she didn't mention it as her goal when Kakashi-sensei asked the team for their introductions. After Naruto had declared his intent to become Hokage, and Sasuke, a fellow kunoichi and the Rookie of the Year, had talked so seriously about killing someone, Sakura thought that admitting to such a small goal would have made her sound shallow. She settled on revealing a more general personal goal of finding true love. But kissing was obviously going to be a big part of fulfilling that goal.

Unfortunately, genin missions so far didn't involve becoming a bodyguard of a handsome prince that would fall in love with her and go down on his knees to propose. Instead, Sakura and her team worked on grueling, unglamorous and non-exciting D-ranks like catching cats, cleaning trash from the river and painting fences. She always felt dirty, sweaty and smelly after them, not at all like the amazing, beautiful kunoichi she had imagined herself to become as a genin.

Sakura shot a look at Sasuke as they waited together on the red bridge for Naruto and Kakashi-sensei to finally show up. The other girl was nonchalantly leaning against the railing in that effortlessly cool way of hers. Sakura didn't understand it, but even after a full day of the worst jobs under the sun Sasuke still looked really pretty. Many times Sakura had admired her face flushed from exertion, those dark and mysterious eyes focusing hard on her task, her graceful movements. It hurt to admit it, but Sasuke was so much closer to that ideal of a kunoichi and she wasn't even trying.

Also, she'd even had her first kiss.

Sakura made a face. Alright, she didn't actually envy Sasuke of that incident. Just the memory of it made Sakura shudder in disgust. Out of all the boys in their class (rather unappealing options, in her opinion) to accidentally smash lips with the least cute one, Naruto? And then get stuck with him on the same team? Sasuke was extremely unlucky.

Though to be fair, the girl seemed to have put that incident behind her and Naruto wasn't so bad in the end, just over-excitable. Sakura tried to keep him in line and Sasuke helped her deal with any messes he created on the way.

Still, Sasuke losing her first kiss so unfortunately made Sakura fear about her own. Troubling thoughts and worries swirled around in her head. Once Sakura started imagining all of the terrible possibilities, she couldn't stop it.

She must have been boring holes in her head, because Sasuke finally looked back at her. "What?" she asked, no-nonsense and arms crossed like usual.

"Nothing…" Sakura sighed and glanced at the road hopefully. Still no sign of their very late teammates. They had time to kill. "I was just thinking about… kissing."

To her surprise, Sasuke didn't scoff and turn away. "What about it?" she asked instead with a curious expression.

"Your first kiss was pretty bad."

Sasuke grimaced. "Don't remind me," she grumbled.

"I guess I worry about what mine will be like. I don't want it to be with Naruto, you know?"

"Duh," Sasuke agreed with an eyeroll. "It was revolting. I almost lost my lunch."

"Yeah, but what if I kissed someone and that person hated it? I don't think I could survive that," Sakura confessed her fears.

Sasuke frowned at her. "It's unlikely you'd be that bad. But you could practice," she suggested.

"Practice kissing?" Sakura repeated, confused but intrigued by the idea.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. If you want to get good at something, you should practice. It's like throwing shuriken or mastering a jutsu," she reasoned. "Practice makes perfect."

This idea had merit. Coming from Sasuke it sounded almost practical and Sakura was tempted to give it a try. But to practice kissing, she needed a partner… but if she asked some boy, she'd just lose her first kiss to him, instead of only preparing for it. Sakura tapped her bottom lip, thinking hard on how to resolve this issue. Her eyes darted to Sasuke.

"Would you help me?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke's eyes went wide. "Me?"

"We're both girls, so it won't count as my first kiss if we just practice together," Sakura said and came closer to the other girl. "Please, Sasuke?" she asked with a pleading look.

Sasuke's gaze skimmed over Sakura's face and she licked her lips. They looked pink and glossy, was she using a new lip balm? "But, why me?" Sasuke asked uncertainly.

"Because you're my teammate and I like you. And teammates help each other practice, right?" Sakura replied, also blushing. "Please, say yes," she urged with those big, emerald eyes staring into Sasuke's dark ones. "I really, really need your help."

Sasuke took in a shaky breath and uncrossed her arms. "Alright," she replied quietly and filled with determination. "How do we start?"

Sakura paused. "I guess… we just get close and touch our lips together?"

Sasuke nodded tightly. "Very well."

The girls looked at each other and shuffled closer, but when they both tried to lean in, they almost knocked their heads together. "Stay still," Sasuke ordered and Sakura froze. Her pretty teammate put her hands on her shoulders and leaned in. Her lips were getting closer and then lightly touched Sakura's before pulling away.

Sakura blinked. She barely felt anything, but a very faint wisp of a tingle on her lips. That was utterly underwhelming.

"Um… too light?" she whispered. "Here, let me try," she said and grabbed Sasuke's shoulders, then angled her face and brushed her puckered mouth against Sasuke's. This time she actually felt something. Sakura pressed their lips more firmly, but it still wasn't what she was looking for.

Experimentally, Sakura rubbed her mouth over Sasuke's. She liked how it glided smoothly thanks to that lip balm. It smelled nice and fresh, like a cut watermelon. The tip of her tongue darted out of her mouth to taste it.

Sasuke gasped at the unexpected touch and Sakura hastily pulled back. "I'm sorry! Did it feel bad?" she asked anxiously. She didn't want to scare her kissing partner away.

After touching her mouth, Sasuke breathed in. "No… I was just surprised," she replied, her intent dark eyes giving Sakura's lips an assessing look, as if she was seizing up a battlefield before an attack. That look put a squirming sensation in the pit of Sakura's stomach. "Let's try it again," Sasuke said and leaned in to her. With nervousness that came out of nowhere, Sakura braced herself for the kiss, but just a breath shy of touching, Sasuke paused. "Relax your lips this time, it felt better when they weren't so stiff," she instructed in a hushed tone.

"O-Okay…" Sakura whispered back and stopped holding her mouth so tight.

She more felt then saw Sasuke's light smirk, then their lips touched again. It was Sakura's turn to gasp. The kiss felt so much better this way. At first it was light, exploratory, then firmer as Sasuke gained confidence. Instead of being like two tense blocks pressed together, their lips became so much softer and pliable as they glided and brushed across each other. Sakura closed her eyes, concentrating on the very pleasant sensation and attempting to mimic what Sasuke was doing.

"That's better," Sasuke murmured, drawing away from her. "It isn't so hard, is it?"

"Yeah… Thanks," Sakura replied, feeling shaky on her feet. She tucked a long strand of hair that was hanging in her face behind her ear and licked her lips, then looked at Sasuke hopefully from under the lowered eyelashes. "Can we… practice a little more? I was beginning to get the hang of it." She knew she was presumptuous and unreasonable after all the help Sasuke had given her already, but the small tingling on her lips made her feel like she was on a verge of some significant breakthrough. She needed to pursue this.

Sasuke gave her a penetrating look, then shrugged. "If you want."

Sakura nodded eagerly and moved in to kiss her again. This time she was in the lead, carefully stroking Sasuke's soft lips with her own. Something hot and wet poked her lips and she parted them in surprise…

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke! Sorry I'm late, my alarm clock didn't ring!" Naruto's obnoxious voice reached them from a distance.

In a blink of an eye, the mouth against hers disappeared and Sasuke was back in her old position against the railing. Sakura blinked a few times, feeling like she'd just been abruptly waken from a very nice dream without finding out how it was going to end. A surge of disappointment filled her and she glared at the orange headache bounding to them through the bridge.

"Naruto! Don't yell so loud in the morning!" she snapped at the knucklehead.

"But, Sakura-chan! You're yelling too!" Naruto pointed out in protest.

She looked at him with murder in her eyes and he backed away. "Ehehe… S-Sorry, Sakura-chan…" Naruto then wiped a finger under his nose and cast a curious look between Sakura and Sasuke. "So, what were you two doing before I got here? You were standing pretty close," he commented.

Sakura's face flamed, steam almost coming out of her ears. He was going to figure it out! This couldn't be happening! She clenched her fists, about ready to knock out any remaining reason from Naruto's dumb head before he put two and two together.

"What we're talking about is none of your concern, dobe," Sasuke said.

"Whaaat? I'm your teammate, I want to know too!"

"You shouldn't be late then," Sasuke replied with a smirk.

"Aaagh! Stop being so smug! I bet you were bragging about some new jutsu to Sakura-chan! Come on, tell me, tell me!" the boy pestered in his annoying way.

Sakura sighed, relieved that Sasuke contained the situation. Naruto was like a dog with a bone. Good thing that he was so single-minded. She looked on as her teammates bickered. Sasuke was surprisingly good at handling Naruto, even if she often fell for his stupid taunts too.

Shortly after, Kakashi finally showed up and the team headed off to another D-rank mission of weeding a garden. Sakura was becoming convinced that the 'D' in it must stand for 'dull', but she wasn't going to complain too much. She didn't actually think they were ready yet for anything truly dangerous.

The team worked together as usual, but Sakura couldn't help shooting looks Sasuke's way. The girl was kneeling in the dirt and diligently digging out the weeds. When she caught Sakura's gaze, she raised an eyebrow. Sakura smiled and shook her head, before bending over her patch of the garden.

Sasuke was acting normal, like nothing had happened between them, so she should put it out of her mind too. Only the lingering taste of watermelon on Sakura's lips assured her that the kissing practice had really happened, that it wasn't just a very vivid daydream conjured by her overactive imagination. But even that taste faded quickly.

However, saying was easier than doing. That night, when she went to sleep, Sakura touched her lips, going over their one time practice in her memory. She didn't understand why she was affected by it so much, it was just Sasuke! She was certain if she'd done the same thing with Ino or any other girl from their class, she wouldn't have made anything out of it. Why was Sasuke any different then? Was it because she was the Rookie of the Year? Some other reason? Sakura couldn't figure it out.

She also wondered if Sasuke thought as much about the kissing practice as she did. Realistically, she doubted that, but there were moments when she almost caught Sasuke sneaking looks at her. Almost. She had no way to be sure. It could have been just her imagination.

Sakura often thought about asking Sasuke to help her practice kissing some more. But they didn't get much time alone in the mornings anymore and whenever they had some, she always chickened out. Sakura told herself that she already knew how to kiss, so asking her teammate for more would be too… weird. On the other hand, Sasuke had said that practice makes perfect and they'd practiced only once, so maybe asking to do it again would be okay? But something held her back, froze the words before she spoke them.

Miraculously, one day Naruto's embarrassing whining in front of the Hokage-sama landed them a C-rank mission. At first, Sakura was overjoyed when she heard they were bodyguarding someone, but her enthusiasm dropped when they were introduced to Tazuna. The old, inebriated bridgebuilder they were supposed to escort was the exact opposite of a handsome prince from her fantasies.

What's worse, Tazuna lied about the mission and they found out the hard way that there were powerful ninja assassins after his head. However, the team decided to push forward anyway. Naruto and Sasuke were confident in their course of action, but Sakura had her doubts, which were proven correct when Zabuza attacked them. Even with Kakashi-sensei there, they all barely survived intact.

And that's how Sakura and Sasuke ended up in the forest outside Tazuna's house, training for the next battle with Zabuza and his masked accomplice. After showing them the tree-walking exercise the previous day, Kakashi mostly stayed in the house to recuperate and Naruto was on guard duty at the bridge.

For the first time in ages Sakura and Sasuke were left alone for a longer stretch of time.

Sakura, who had managed the tree-walking on her first try, was tasked with coaching her teammates as she perfected the technique for herself. One thing was knowing how to use it, another was how to use it well. She needed to train her endurance too, or so Kakashi-sensei had said.

Sakura climbed the tree ten times then took a break as she felt the fatigue. She sat under it and watched Sasuke ineffectively run up the trunk of her tree before she inevitably messed up her chakra flow and jumped off, making a scratch with a kunai on the bark to mark her progress. She was getting better, but it was rather slow. In two days, she only made it to four meters off the ground.

Sasuke's body flipped through the air gracefully and the girl landed in a crouch. She was breathing hard from exertion, her cheeks flushed, and she wiped her forehead with her white forearm protector. Sakura went up to her.

"Here, have a drink," she said and handed her teammate a water bottle. Sasuke took it and gulped half of it at once. Even that she managed to do with so much fluidity. Sakura would have just looked piggish in her place.

"Thanks," Sasuke said quietly and held out the bottle in return. Her mouth was pink and glistening with wetness and Sakura's breath caught in her throat. Sasuke rubbed her wet mouth with the back of her hand.

With a start, Sakura realized she was staring. She hurriedly took back the bottle. "No problem," she muttered, lowering her gaze to the grass briefly. "Say, Sasuke, how do you do that?" she blurted out suddenly.

"Do what?" Sasuke asked.

"You always move so gracefully, like you're in full control of every movement you make. And you're so good at fighting," Sakura explained. Sasuke was amazing in taijutsu, that's what made her the top of the class. In the Academy other girls were jealous of her looks and skill, but she kept to herself, treating them with an air of disdain which didn't gain her any popularity. Sakura hadn't been friends with Sasuke then, as she'd been mostly hanging out with Ino until their falling out, but she admired her skill in anything physical. She even picked up on kissing so quickly… Was it just a natural talent?

Sasuke paused at the surprise compliment, then shifted her body to the side, crossing her arms in thought. "Hn. I just listen to my body. And I practice a lot," she said simply in that cool way of hers.

How funny, even the tips of her ears were red, Sakura noticed. She must have really tired herself out.

"Listen to your body? How does that work? Can you teach me that?" Sakura's questions flooded out of her.

Sasuke scratched her head. "It's like meditation. It's hard to explain. You have to train your body to know your limitations and then break them," she said. "And you constantly move the goalpost."

Sakura nodded as she absorbed the information. She was having a rough idea what Sasuke was talking about. "I think I get it. Thanks," she said slowly. "Do you want a tip on tree-walking?" she offered in return.

"Well… yes," Sasuke admitted.

Sakura smiled. "Don't get distracted or stressed out, that's what makes you mess up your chakra flow. Just clear your mind and concentrate on the tree and your chakra. Like this," Sakura said and demonstrated by walking up the tree. She then stuck the soles of her feet to the underside of a branch, making herself hang upside down, her face right in front of Sasuke's. "Cool, isn't it?" she asked, grinning like a lunatic. She was showing off, but it felt so good to have a special talent!

Then Sasuke went on her tiptoes and kissed her.

Sakura lost the focus on her chakra out of the sheer surprise. She fell off head first with a shriek, but Sasuke was fast enough to catch her by the shoulders and pull them up. Sakura folded in the air, so that her feet hit the ground first as she landed awkwardly, her body almost horizontal with her back held up by Sasuke.

Sakura panted harshly, trembling all over from the sudden rush of adrenaline. She looked up at her savior. "Thanks," she wheezed.

Sasuke helped her stand up straight again. Sakura's legs were a little spongy after that scare, but she wasn't going to fall over again. Unless Sasuke did something unexpected to her again, of course…

"Why did you do it?" Sakura asked.

"Obviously I couldn't let my teammate crack her skull like that," Sasuke replied.

Sakura gave her a disbelieving look. Her avoidance of the question was transparent!

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked again.

Sasuke put her hands in the pockets of her white shorts and looked at a tree, as if there was something interesting there.

"To distract you. You shouldn't get too conceited with your success, you're still not a master," she said with a shrug.

"Oh." Sakura muttered, looking away. That made sense for Sasuke to kiss her… There was a logical reason. Then why was she so disappointed?

Sakura observed Sasuke out of the corner of her eye. She really had a beautiful profile. Those high cheek bones were to die for, her nose was perfectly sculpted and those lips… Sakura touched her own mouth. Why were her lips still tingling from that kiss? What was that flipping sensation in her gut? She hugged herself, feeling so deeply confused.

"We should probably get back to training," Sasuke said.

"Right… I won't interrupt you anymore," Sakura replied and morosely returned to her tree.

She couldn't stop thinking about her issue when she was practicing tree-walking, but even with that distraction her chakra control remained flawless.

Only a few days later, after the battle on the bridge, she finally figured it out. She saw Sasuke, laying lifelessly on the hard ground, eyes closed and body riddled with senbon needles. Sakura ran to her with tears brimming in her green eyes. She slumped over her teammate, crying sorrowfully. How could Sasuke be gone? She was so smart, strong and incredible… and with a painful tug in her chest Sakura realized that she loved her. She loved Sasuke, but it was already too late…

"Sakura… your arm is heavy…" a weak voice spoke to her.

Shocked, Sakura looked at Sasuke, who was very much awake, then engulfed her in a crushing hug. "Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke!" She was so overcome with emotion that she couldn't say anything else but Sasuke's name.

The relief was so overpowering that she was crying again. She was ecstatic! Sasuke was still alive!

The realization of the nature of her true feelings for her teammate should have turned her life upside down, but strangely, Sakura felt no longer confused. Everything slid into place for her. It all finally made sense, her persistent thoughts about Sasuke, her strong reactions to the girl, how she wanted to kiss her again…

Sasuke wasn't a handsome prince that Sakura had pictured in her dreams, rather she was a beautiful princess, but that didn't matter anymore. Sakura smiled through the happy tears and hugged Sasuke tighter. It still scared her how she almost lost her. Sakura could hear Sasuke's slow heartbeat picking up speed and it calmed her down.

Sasuke was going to be okay. They were both going to be okay.

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AN: Thanks for reading! This is my last story for Femslash February this year. I hope you enjoyed it. Please share your thoughts about the story in a review, I will appreciate it :)

Until next time!


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